


Trickster's Presence

by Sherwhotreksings



Series: Holding You Closer [2]
Category: Parks and Recreation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 21:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2522786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherwhotreksings/pseuds/Sherwhotreksings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yesterday was not a date, or was it? Takes place during Media Blitz (3x5).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trickster's Presence

Leslie Knope is an amazing woman and he wants to go on a date with her; a real date with dinner. They’ve had plenty of “work dates”, but it isn’t the same. Even the Freddy Spaghetti concert couldn't be considered a date -even though she wasn’t technically working- because she still hated him then. Besides, that was the first time he actually saw she was so much more than some obsessive, annoying government worker. The Twilight movie wasn't really a date because she didn't know it was, it’s kind of important for both people to know. That night he was just comfortable being near her. Tonight, tonight would be their first date, but he's not going to call it that when he asks her.

He asks her out to eat and she teases him about his love for calzones. There isn’t anything wrong with calzones, but he goes along with it anyway. His heart flutters at their playful banter and for the first time he notices a gleam in her eyes and a light in her face he hasn't seen before. He took it too far with the last comment. Leslie is mad at him now.

"No one likes them. Good day sir." She storms off.

All he can do is open and close his mouth while making flustered noises. He screwed up horribly.

"I'm just kidding!" She jumps around and stops his heart attack.

He should have known she would play a trick like that on him. Relief floods through him as Leslie motions with her head that they should go. He knows exactly where to take her; JJ's diner. It's her favorite place to eat.

They have to drive there separately because they both have cars that need to be taken home and he's sure he won't be spending the night at Leslie's and Leslie won't be spending the night at his because his place is a motel. He wouldn't even ask that from her on their first not-so-date. JJ already has her order ready when she walks in, “I keep a plate of waffles warm at all times for my favorite customer,” so Ben spends the first 15 minutes or so awkwardly watching her eat waffles covered in whipped cream as he waits for his food. They talk about work mostly, but a few personal things as well, still mostly work related. Maybe he won't count this as a date after all. It isn’t a date if work is the only topic.

The car ride home is sad and depressing without Leslie Knope to fill it's confined space with her presence. He's been driving for a half hour before he realizes he's outside the city limits. Consumed with his thoughts of Leslie, he sighs and turns around. She is like a breath of fresh air in this wretched town and he has no way to hold on to her. He's going back to Indianapolis soon and he can't ask her to come with him; to leave Pawnee; to leave all she's worked for; he isn't worth that.

He sees Leslie in the morning at work and smiles politely, yesterday was not a date.

"Ben are you going to the Snakehole tonight?" she asks him cheerfully.

_Yesterday was not a date._

"Nah I don't think so. I'm not really the party type."

Leslie's face falls momentarily, but she masks it with her normal, happy, self before being pulled away by Ron.

_Yesterday was not a date._

She'd gone from her office for most of the day and for most of the day she is all he can think about, so when he sees her at Snakehole later, he makes a B-line directly to her. Her blonde waves bounce as she downs a shot with Ann. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he had someone more than just a Facebook friend somewhere. He converses with Ann, wanting only to talk to Leslie, wishing Ann would go away. His partially drunken state doesn't help with his Leslie problem. He glances at her every time she looks away, but inevitably he will go home alone just like every other night since he started traveling so much.

He tried to have a relationship once, back when he was new to being gone for months at a time. He underestimated the work it took to maintain a long distance relationship, so he broke it off a few weeks after his first audit. Leslie Knope is different. She seems like the type of person who would try to make it work no matter what, it’s a good quality to have.


End file.
